Clerics establish interfaith lobby group for Mindanao autonomy law

MAKATI, Philippines - Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, archbishop of Cotabato in the southern
Philippines, announced the creation of a group on Monday that aims to
lobby for the passage of a law that would create an autonomous region
for the Moro people in Mindanao.
The Friends for Peace, a group of Christians, Muslims, tribal
people and religious leaders, has called for dialogue and consultation
to support the implementation of the peace deal between the government
and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) brokered last year.
Quevedo said the group's vision includes the formation of a human
ecology of harmony and peace among various ethnic groups and religious
traditions, especially in the southern Philippines.
On Sunday, the prelate further called on the faithful to support the
Citizens’ Peace Summit that President Benigno Aquino called last week.
The president created a five-person council tasked to convene a
national peace summit that would scrutinize the proposed Bangsamoro
Basic Law (BBL).
If passed by Congress, the BBL would create a new Moro autonomous
entity to replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Council members include Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, former
Chief Justice Hilario Davide, former ambassador Howard Dee, businessman
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and Muslim youth leader Bai Rohaniza
Sumndad-Usman.
The work of the peace council initiated by the president is most laudable, said Quevedo during his Easter message.
Such effort needs our prayers and support, and may the Lord bless their work for peace.”
The proposed creation of the Bangsamoro region has drawn mixed
reactions after the bungled police operation that resulted in the death
of 67 people in Maguindanao province in January. The incident led some
sectors to question the sincerity of the MILF to pursue peace.
Quevedo, however, said the public needed to understand the peace
process in Mindanao through the conduct of a sober and objective
analysis of the proposed BBL.
The prelate said the self-determination long aspired for by Moros [should] not become an empty word .
In a statement issued last week, the conveners of the summit said
they have already agreed to expand the composition of the group to
include other pro-peace and pro-dialogue people.
The group said it aims to provide an avenue for dialogue between
independent-minded citizens who believe in the importance of
understanding the BBL and to discuss its implications for peace and
development in our country at a fair and reasonable manner.
In his own Easter message, Tagle urged the faithful not to allow
worries and cynicism to blind us to the needs of the poor among us .
Let us go to all the corners of our country as missionaries of
peace, Tagle said, adding that the faithful should behold the Risen
Jesus in every needy person .
Last year, the Philippine government and the MILF agreed to end
decades of rebellion in exchange for self-rule in several southern
provinces that would be called the Bangsamoro region.